Don’t Botch Your Interview

Whether you’re proactively looking for a new opportunity while employed or aggressively looking while unemployed, the fact is that job seeking is not an easy feat. In this economy, landing a job can sometimes take a painstaking, long time. And finding a job that is aligned with what you’re looking for or at a company you’re targeting can also seem like a far-away dream. But, sometimes throughout your job search you will land that interview you’ve been fighting for. Be sure to not let your eagerness, nerves, or out-of-practice interviewing experience mess up your opportunity.

Here are some tips for your interview:

Don’t talk too much or talk over the interviewer: it’s important to listen to what the interviewer has to say about the job duties and requirements before you indulge too much. If you speak too much or too soon, you might find yourself having to retract or cover yourself so you didn’t talk yourself out of a job.

Do your homework and ask questions: recruiters like to see that you have done your homework and have well-thought out questions. They do not like hearing questions that could have easily been answered by reading the job posting or company website. It will show you didn’t care enough to do your research. Additionally, doing your research can help you have examples prepared to show your relevant experience.

Don’t over indulge: like I mentioned above, you don’t want to talk too much. Answer the question at hand with relevant experience and move on to the next question. You want to give enough information to prove you are qualified but don’t overdo it.

Speak positively about your past employers: speaking negatively about employers can be a huge turn-off for recruiters. Even if you had a bad experience worthy of complaining about, it’s important to show a recruiter that you are professional. Find something positive to say, regardless of your situation.

Speak positively about failures: failures are inevitable but it’s important to talk about the positive things you’ve accomplished during this situation and things you’ve learned and effectively applied to future experiences.

Carefully consider what weakness you share and how it will affect your qualifications: most of the time a recruiter will ask you about strengths and weaknesses in an interview. Be sure to consider what weakness you want to divulge beforehand to ensure you don’t say something that can make a recruiter question if you’re still qualified to satisfactorily perform the job duty needs.

Don’t corner yourself: make yourself open to negotiation early in the interview stage. You don’t want to corner yourself into a specific salary or job function by declaring something before finding out what options you have.

Interviews are your time to put your best impression forward. Be sure to carefully consider different questions a recruiter may ask you before you step in the interview to ensure you have the best examples readily available that will paint you in a positive light.